Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Well Being and Medicine

Well Being is the Natural Order of a Human Person.

Imagine a spectrum of Well Being which includes negative and positive. Meaning, there are people not so well in a desired Order, some are having dis-Order and, there is a possibility of improvement in almost every human being (i.e. ideal situation of achievement of the highest potential).

Identification and correction of what is not in order is one goal of any such institution while taking/ guiding others to reach their highest possible potential is the other goal. In my consideration, taking only one goal into the account will be half approach to the issue of Well Being.

Now, looking at the Human Potential of highest order one will have to consider the different dimensions of life. They are normally classified as following three-

- Physical (Body - Organs and Systems)

- Psychological (Mind/ Behaviour/ Emotions/ Sex)

- Spiritual (Happiness/ fulfillment, larger goals of life, relationship with the universe, other beings and existence)

- Moral (there are things you know is right or wrong in certain context)

- Professional/ Industrial/ Job

The above explained dimensions are all well recognized.

WHO definition of 'Health' is a much forward/ progressive statement at normal standards-

"Health is a complete state of Physical, Mental and Social Well Being and not, merely the absence of Disease or Infirmity".

However in India, a person is defined as a whole of five sheaths/ layer of existence (In Sanskrit, PanchaKosha). These are-

- Annamaya Kosha (Physical Body- that which is made of food/ nutrition)

- Manomaya Kosha (Layer of Mind/ Emotion)

- Vijnanamaya Kosha (Layer of Intellect)

- Pranamaya Kosha (Energy Body)

- Anandmaya Kosha (Spiritual Layer)

Now, this is very logical for me to understand. But, this approach requires one to understand/ recognize the Spiritual and Energy dimensions. Since there are differences in mainstream Scientific Community of today over the recognition of these last two, these two very important dimensions are generally ignored by the people (read Doctors, Psychologists etc.) who have the responsibility to bring people back to the rhythm/ order of, what is LIFE.

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Assuming that, there are people who recognize the need of improvement in any of the above mentioned dimensions, where should they go? Assuming that there is going to be a Center which will help people re-align their Body, Emotions, Intellect, Energy and Spiritual well-being - one will have to think of the established parameters within the ambit of Medicine, Health and Wellness.

First Do No Harm. This is the established principle in Medicine, which is encrypted in every Medical Professional as 'Hippocratric Oath'. There is general sense of belief in the Public that if their Doctors are qualified they are in safer hands. Now, not every medical professional abides by this which we know because people's inner consciousness have lesser grip on a professional than the objectives of Pharmaceutical Companies and Hospital Industry. Researches and Medicines get manufactured because it benefits the industry, not the human being. Slowly, people are understanding this and looking out for alternatives but the problem lies with the reach, standards and protocols of alternatives available.